The Gerald S. Birth Award for outstanding innovation in diffuse reflection or diffuse transmission spectroscopy is conferred and sponsored by the Council for Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (CNIRS) in memory of Gerald Birth. The late Dr. Birth was the founder of the International Diffuse Reflectance Conference (IDRC), also sponsored by the CNIRS. He made many contributions to the instrument technology related to diffuse reflectance.
This award recognizes a specific accomplishment in advancing the Art and Science of Near Infrared Spectroscopy by a research scientist. All scientists performing research in Diffuse Reflection Spectroscopy or in Diffuse Transmission Spectroscopy in the visible, NIR or mid-IR regions are eligible for the award. The award-winning work must have been published between 01-Jan-2020 and 31-Dec-2021. The awardee (practicing or retired) may be (or have been) affiliated with industry, academia, government, or have another suitable affiliation. Undergraduate students, graduate students, and post-doctoral researchers are not eligible. The awardee must be able to present the award-winning work during the online IDRC Conference. The award entails an honorarium of $2000. The Birth Award is granted at the sole discretion of the CNIRS and the scientific panel and may not be awarded if appropriate. The 2022 recipient of the Gerald S. Birth Award is Christian W. Huck of the University of of Innsbruck, Austria. See the announcement here.
Birth Award Winners
Hirschfeld Award: The 2022 Tomas Hirschfeld Award will be presented at Chambersburg in 2022. The award, organised by ICNIRS with generous sponsorship from PerkinElmer, is given annually to an individual who has made a significant contribution to NIR spectroscopy. Anyone may nominate an individual for the award. For more details and a list of previous awardees, see the ICNIRS website. The 2022 Tomas Hirschfeld Award winner is Wouter Saeys. See the official annoucement here.
The Young Scientist Award, sponsored by Avian Technologies LLC, is recognizing excellence in diffuse reflectance research performed by currently enrolled graduate and post-doctoral students. The $750 prize will be awarded at the International Diffuse Reflectance Conference where the awardee will present the work being recognized. Students should submit their nomination package to idrc.awards@cnirs.org with the following: - Description of the research, impact to the field, and innovation statement written by the candidate (2 pages max) - Letter of support by the academic adviser (1 page) - Publication(s) (if applicable) Outstanding Poster Award: The Outstanding Poster award recognizes excellence in research for both students and experienced professionals. Posters are judged by the award committee and consideration is given to scientific rigor, contribution to the field, relevance to the conference theme and overall presentation. The awardees will be recognized at the banquet and monetary awards will be given in the amounts of $100, $75 and $50, for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place posters, respectively. Please fill the Call for Poster Abstract form and submit it to idrc.awards@cnirs.org by 1-Jul-2022. Call for Poster Abstract Honorary Membership in the CNIRS: Honorary Members are persons who have made exceptional contributions to near infrared spectroscopy and have been voted into their membership by the Governing Board of CNIRS. No more than two Honorary Members can be named in any fiscal year. Nominations and supporting documentation are to be submitted to the Awards Committee.